Valencia Cay at Riverland brings the best of GL Homes’ famous Valencia 55+ lifestyle to Port St. Lucie on Florida’s East Coast. Homeowners will enjoy resort-style living that is second to none with with an array of wonderful amenities right in th....

Port Saint Lucie : Florida

What it's Like to Retire in Port Saint Lucie

Port St. Lucie, located on the East Coast of Florida, is one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S. according to the 2005 Census Bureau. In 1961 it had 250 homes, in 1980 there were 15,000, and in 2012 the Census Bureau estimated a city population of over 168,000 (with 400,000 in the metropolitan area). Port St. Lucie Beach is located in St. Lucie County. Port Saint Lucie started as a development of the General Development Corporation and became a city on April 27, 1961. Today the city is home to spring training for the New York Mets. There are 3 institutions of higher education here including Indian River State College.

Port St. Lucie experienced three major hurricanes within 2 years: Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Jeanne and Hurricane Wilma. The affects of those storms were severe but residents are rebuilding. There are many miles of unspoiled beaches along the ocean, plus many waterways connected to the intercoastal. Located about halfway down the east coast of Florida, Port St. Lucie tends to be a bit more low-key than more famous communities to the south. The city has had to wrestle with the issue of over-development, a big problem everywhere in Florida. PGA golf course courtesy of Wikipedia and Zverzver.

Where to Retire in Port Saint Lucie and Home Prices

Tradition is a huge planned community that is modeled after a 1950s-era town with Tradition Square, the town center of the community. PGA Village is another large community with major golf activities. Active adults who live in Port St. Lucie find it is possible to live near the water – either the beach or the intercoastal. There are many apartment buildings that offer carefree retirement living and varying degrees of amenities. Or you can choose to live in one of the many gated communities in the town or surrounding area (see link at right) According to National Association of Realtors, the median home price in the last quarter of 2017 was $232,00.

What is special about Port Saint Lucie

Port Saint Lucie has beautiful white sandy beaches and the NY Mets spring training. It is the fastest growing city in the U.S. and there are many housing opportunities for retirees, including high rise apartments near the beach and gated communities. The town Recreation Department is active. There's a Saints Municipal Golf Course here as well.

What is not special about Port Saint Lucie

Crowds in season. Over Development is always a risk. Hurricane season. Port St. Lucie is far away from any big city - it is equidistant from Fort Lauderdale or Orlando.

Who will like retirement in Port Saint Lucie

The average age here is slightly below the Florida average. Port St. Lucie attracts a diverse community of people including retirees. For more information see our retire in Florida guide.

Local economy is driven by

Tourism, industry, retail, services, and real estate are important to the economy

Climate and Physical Environment

Port St. Lucie is on the east coast of Florida. It is flat with the Atlantic Ocean on the East with business and real estate development to the west. The average July high temperature is 90 and the average January high is 74 (the average low is 55). The wettest month is September (8").

Restaurants & Cultural Scene

Port Saint Lucie's cultural center seems to be more in the sporting world, with the NY Mets spring training and plenty of great golf events.

Crime

The crime rate is about half the national average.

Medical facilities

• Saint Lucie Medical Center • Savannas Hospital

Transportation

Vero Beach Muni is 27 miles away.
Palm Beach International Airport is 46 miles away.
Tri-Rail provides some commuter service from Palm Beach County, through Broward County/Port St. Lucie, and into Miami-Dade County.

Please note that all contributions to Topretirements may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then don't submit it here. By submitting content and/or photographs here you agree to give Topretirements.com the rights to use them in any manner without cost or attribution.You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Project:Copyrights for details). DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION!